Oil prices rose back towards record highs today as a Shi'ite Muslim uprising threatened to engulf Iraq's oil industry, reigniting concerns about tight international supplies.
US light crude rose 40 cents to $44.35 a barrel, less than 50 cents shy of Friday's record of $44.77, the highest price since the New York Mercantile Exchange launched oil futures in 1983.
Prices rose as Iraqi armed militia roamed the southern oil production centre of Basra and insurgents hit the oil ministry compound in Baghdad.
Guards along the two pipelines, that link oilfields to two offshore terminals in the Gulf, were on alert. Attacks against the pipelines, which deliver all of the country's 1.9 million barrels per day of exports, have stopped loadings several times this year.
A shipping agent said flows from the country's southern terminals were normal on Monday and officials said they should continue uninterrupted.
Prices have rallied more than 30 per cent this year as rapid demand growth, especially in the United States and China, has left little leeway for any supply disruptions. Consumption is accelerating at its fastest pace in more than 20 years.
Prices rose even though an official at Russia's state railways said it expected no disruptions in YUKOS' oil and refined oil products exports after August 10, when the firm's deadline to pay shipping fees expires.